A footballing legend of this city, Pat Crerand, has recently released his autobiography entitled "Never Turn The Other Cheek". Crerand is of course a hero amongst United fans due to his efforts during the Busby era, and more recently for his impartial observations as a football pundit on local radio. However this book may be of more general interest to Irish readers, given the publisher's description:

"As a Catholic born in the then infamous Gorbals area of Glasgow, Crerand was determined to escape from an extraordinarily tough background of family tragedy, religious bigotry and working in the Clyde shipyard, to become a professional footballer. As a Celtic player in the early years of Jock Stein's management, Paddy Crerand was forced to play in the shadow of the then dominant Rangers team. At Manchester United, however, he enjoyed great success in Sir Matt Busby's post-Munich Air Disaster team, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup, and playing alongside the likes of George Best, Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Nobby Stiles.

"In his own distinctively punchy style, Crerand reveals the full truth about his controversial friendship with the hard-drinking Protestant Rangers star 'Slim' Jim Baxter and the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly; what it was like to be George Best's minder and Matt Busby's confidant; and his passionate involvement in Irish nationalist politics."

In particular the book details Crerand's friendship with John Hume and a very curious episode when he met members of the Republican movement, including Martin McGuinness, in Derry in 1975.

Sounds well worth a read. Crerand really is one of our own and had the current rules and attitudes regarding national sides applied in his day, he would certainly have been a regular for the Republic of Ireland.

By the way, today's Telegraph features an interview with Crerand by Jim White, who writes for the United We Stand fanzine.

Pat Crerand's autobiography is available from our Amazon store.